2118 replies to this topic

[ls2lxhatch]

Get a quote from seatbelt solutions to have them rewebbed.

 

The new seatbelt webbing has move give than the original webbing and therefore better shock absorbing properties. The original webbing has been banned for use in new seatbelts.

 

If the belts are faded they may not be any good as a safety device.

[Heath]

For a few sections, I used Mr Black on the best condition belts I could find.

I'm comfortable enough with the condition of the belts I've used from a safety perspective. I'll keep some spare rears that can be re-webbed in the future if I feel so inclined.

Smoothed any damage off the seatbelt bolts and and had them re-zinc'd a while back:

 

Stripped back the rusty steel parts of the seat belt retractors and painted those areas in black cold gal also, prior to re-webbing:

Restored vs. old. - also managed to get new stainless/chrome shoulder loops that the original trims clip onto! Very cool. Although I did have to drill/grind the holes out carefully to fit the Torana Ferrules. They were designed to fit the smaller (gold zinc) metric bolt shown in the photo.

[Heath]

So years back I bought one of those nice cast alloy Dellows gearbox crossmember:


And cut a bit of a chunk out of it to fit around the lower section of the TKO 600 extension housing.

 
Anyway, to get the box sitting at the right height in the car, I needed to space the gearbox mount up about 20mm, so cut a piece of ally plate to suit:

Used some spare door strikers to hold it in position when I welded it on with the TIG... that was really pushing the limits of what my welder could do!
 
And I love the triangular pattern in the crossmember, but I didn't like the look of the big slab of solid ally in the middle. Spent ages drilling and grinding out some more triangular shapes and losing the extra material from around the mount:

 
I think it's a much nicer aesthetic after those efforts and another hydro-blast.

[308 Sunbird]

Work of art H.

[RIM-010]

Smashing it mate. Inspirational

[Heath]

Cheers fellas.

 

So my Haltech WB2 (two channel CANbus wide band O2 sensor system) probably should have been mounted outside the cabin... but I put it right next to the ECU behind the dash, so running the wiring (that already had plugs on them!) to the sensors was a bit of a drama. I had to buy another (14 way in this case) HD firewall connector and find a place for it to go. This one I decided to put on the far side of the motor, near the dizzy. With a 90degree boot on it (which I cut down after this photo to be a bit "lower profile", it looks pretty neat and just fits in there.

 

I then soldered some wires onto the reverse switch for the TKO gearbox. These are supposed to have an overpriced connector that looks a bit shithouse in design, so I figured soldering it on was the go and this allowed me to keep the genuine Torana wiring colours. Keep in mind that getting the terminals too hot will loosen them up, so be prepared to shove them back in if the spring pushes them out of place when they're being soldered, haha!

 

A bit of heat shrink and a wire twist to make it look sharp:

 

The two Bosch O2 sensor wires cut and terminated for the connector, and the intermediate wiring for the reverse switch, showing the PET braid and Raychem SCL ends "deconstructed" as us Melbournians like to do:

The Red band denotes 'Right' for me, and it's just a red bit of electrical tape, covered by some clear heat shrink for durability. Easier than getting bespoke plastic labels printed for wiring, when I only need a couple of really basic identifiers.

 

 

Like a bought one.

[Bigfella237]

Noice!

 

Are those Deutsch connectors or some other brand?

[Heath]

The grey one is a Deutsch DT, and the round one is a Deutsch HD (which conveniently uses the same pins/sockets as the DT series).

So if you buy the big DT connector set off eBay that comes with the crimpers, then you've got the tools you need. That is absolutely my recommendation.

The black connectors are some Bosch product which came with the Haltech WB2 system. All I've done with them is make some small ally brackets to hold them in place on the bellhousing to stop them hanging down, I haven't de-pinned them at all.

[Heath]

Made some little alloy washers to shim the HD connectors a bit and hide some more of the thread that would otherwise be exposed through the firewall.

Populated the internal side of the one in the post above.

That's that loom completed:

 

Added some finishing touches I'd been putting off for the main EFI engine loom. Added a couple of wires and confirmed a few lengths:

Then started populating the bigger connector on the firewall.

Documenting everything of course:

 

And grabbed an ICE Ignition lead kit for the VT dizzy, which I did a little braided loom for as well. These will need to be trimmed to length and have the terminals/boots put on one end.

[lx308]

Bloody neat & tidy. Love it. 

[Heath]

So when I went to put the Wideband O2 sensors into the pipes a few weeks ago... I realised that I'd made a bit of a stuff-up. I had worked so hard to get the sensor away from the chassis rail, that it ended up hanging down to be the lowest point of the car in one area. That's a problem because it could be bent/snapped over a nasty speedhump, and they aren't really supposed to aim "up" at all due to risk of condensation resting on the tip of the sensor.

This was no good:


At the same time it was clear that having the whole exhaust as a 1pce assembly was a bit impractical (disconnecting the shocks to let the diff droop down means the whole exhaust needs to come off!):


So I picked up some stainless O2 sensor bosses and flanges and cleaned those up:

 
I decided to leave the ports I'd already installed in place, as an extra port for a third party tuner to use if needed, and added some better positioned sensor mounting bosses to point mine up next to the gearbox.


Cut the tail pipes off and added some flanges on there to make it a bit more modular.

 
Then added some little (holey) braces between the pipes and the expansion chamber to strengthen up that little join.

 
That'll do for now.

[76lxhatch]

I wouldn't be too concerned about the sensor angle with condensation, but yeah can't have them hanging down like that.

 

Only thing is those flanges are generally terrible; I'd highly recommend using three bolt flanges which can be clocked to give the same ground clearance, or maybe V bands?

[Heath]

I've heard mixed opinions, but some of them align with what you just said there.

I didn't use V-Bands on the rears, because they'll need to clock up a specific way and I don't want a separate mount to keep them in that angular position. If they leak, no problem.
 
If the front ones leak... that's actually a bit more of a pain in the arse due to the O2 sensors and general issues with a leak in that area. I would probably change them to V-Bands if that happens.
The 3-Bolt flange would either hang down too far or be too close to the floor of the car (talking about the front one here... the only one that matters for leaking). Real estate is at a premium in that area ground-clearance-wise.

[toryman76]

I've got the same 2 bolt flanges and they are a pita to seal. Its pot luck really. Last attempt I tried larger bolts for more torque as well as a smear of gasket goo. I think they are ok but I am yet to really inspect them while it's running. Just been jumping in and driving!! 😁😁😁😁

[neglectedtorana]

I have similar 2 bolt flanges with the bolts welded into one flange so I only need to put the nut and washer on the other side and don't need 2 hands to do it up, sealed with Permatex Ultra Copper 

 

I also have some 4 bolt on the extractor outlets, sealed the same and maybe a few mm more clearance as the outside diameter is smaller but not a big deal

[toryman76]

I have similar 2 bolt flanges with the bolts welded into one flange so I only need to put the nut and washer on the other side and don't need 2 hands to do it up, sealed with Permatex Ultra Copper

I also have some 4 bolt on the extractor outlets, sealed the same and maybe a few mm more clearance as the outside diameter is smaller but not a big deal

Do you only use the ultra copper? Or ultra copper plus a gasket?

[rodomo]

What if you turn the mega muff assembly up side down?

[warrenm]

Do you only use the ultra copper? Or ultra copper plus a gasket?

Just use the ultra copper & no gasket.

[neglectedtorana]

I don't have a gasket in the 2 bolt flanges just the ultra copper, can't remember if there is a gasket in the 4 bolt.

Have seen a super charged big block in a ski boat with ultra copper and no gasket at the collector from extractors to water cooled manifold with no issues

[rexy]

Ultra copper and two bolt flanges work fine. Mine never leak and it takes quite the effort to separate them!

[Shtstr]

I have used 2 bolt flanges in my hatch. But to help keep it all aligned and help with sealing. I tacked one half of the flange in place and left the pipe protruding by about 3 to 4 mm. This also acts as an aligning tool between the two flanges when you bolt the exhaust into place. I will be fitting the gaskets and copper max gasket sealer to guarantee it won't leak.

[ls2lxhatch]

I have used 2 bolt flanges in my hatch. But to help keep it all aligned and help with sealing. I tacked one half of the flange in place and left the pipe protruding by about 3 to 4 mm. This also acts as an aligning tool between the two flanges when you bolt the exhaust into place. I will be fitting the gaskets and copper max gasket sealer to guarantee it won't leak.

 

That is how I wished mine were made. As a retrofit I was planning to cut a piece of the same size exhaust pipe around 10 mm and fit it inside the flange.

[Heath]

Sanded and masked up an old silver grill that wasn't broken.

Painted it satin black.

Drilled little holes from behind and panel-beat some small dints out of the brightwork (without removing the brightwork at all, lol)

Duck up the restored repro 'SS' badge:

 

I finished marking out, sizing up and sealing up the precise holes in the firewall for the hoses, connectors, etc. And added grommets to the appropriate ones.

 

Pulled the extractor off and added some nutserts for the battery thru-posts:

 

Made up a charge cable for the alternator, a short earth strap, and post-to-starter, plus post-to-engine-ground.

 

In the end I adjusted the two big diameter ones in length, and added the thermal insulation:

 

Dug up a stuffed old throttle cable, cut it to length, added the EFI hardware kit to put on the end (pretty simple, uses a grubscrew rather than crimping) and routed it as best I could. I also added a new rubber (repro) grommet at the pedal end, and had to re-index the throttle wheel and return spring on the inlet manifold to point it all in the right direction between throats 5 & 7.

This may take some more adjusting to improve progression, but it's in the ballpark.

 

While the extractor was off, I ran a holesaw around the superfluous O2 sensor bung to cut that out, and replaced that with a small bit of stainless sheet that I cut and bent to shape:

[Heath]

LPG system needed some attention paid too. I dug out my old filler and realised I or the electroplaters have done something retarded and damaged the tapered seat that forms part of the fitting.

 

Bought myself a new fitting... and if I have to cut the filler apart to replace it, I may as well at least cut some weight out of it!

 

Bought a new filler line, and full car length (6m) Faro Flex lines (this car has two lines, two lock-offs at each end, two converters) with appropriate fittings:

 

Made an eccentric pointy thing to stick in the end of the filler line so I could feed it through the chassis rail. When I came up to a nutsert, a crush tube, etc. I could rotate the hose and continue pushing it through, worked a treat and was 100% necessary.

 

I actually realised the filler nozzle was going to hit the bodywork so I made another adjustment and added a curved bit in:

Filler valve assembled:

 

So it ducks into the chassis rail at its strongest point, and goes forward down towards the diff.

 

Which meant I could weld up an extra hole on the inside of the boot that I had cut... but I'm very glad I didn't have to use!

 

 

Now to the front end...

I was going to run the feed lines on the INSIDE of the chassis rail to the converters, but space was getting extremely tight near the exhaust etc.

Started playing with different fitting combinations:

 

Drilled some holes, added grommets, and fed the lines in:

 

That's the ticket:

 

Phew! Much neater.

 

But this means it goes through the wheel well... so can get rocks pelted at it etc.

 

Cardboard Aided Design to the rescue:

That's just 2mm ally sheet I had lying around. And a coat of stone guard so it blends in.

 

And the lines continue down along the car, nutserted P clamps that I distorted in the vice to suit the two hoses next to one-another at regular intervals.

[73SUNBURSTEXYOUWON]

Nice Heath.

Gee your CAD design was awsome. turned out real nice.